Saint John
by Twilight Warrior 627
Summary: The River of Fate has been diverted. Now, one man, will become one of strongest champions of the Light. The world will will know his name. And as he walks through the darkness, he will show no fear.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the series mentioned in this story.

Author's note: I have way too many ideas in my head that this one wouldn't leave me alone. This idea came to me thanks to reading seraphim2db's stories where recurring characters are given the spotlight. So this particular story will star a particular character who was in the background in seasons 1, 2, and 3 of the show. This story will be in a similar style to seraphim2db's stories, minus the anime action. So this will be relatively shorter than what I've been doing for the last almost two years. Also, the abilities I'm giving the star of this story are being based off of a few sources, such as Lords of Shadow and Dresden Files. Having said that, there will be certain cameos that I will twist to best suit the story. The supernatural aspects will also have other things based on the series just mentioned. So here is the first chapter of the story, and I hope you all like it.

* * *

Sunnydale Clocktower

A lone figure stood on the roof as he surveyed the his hometown, particularly the remains of the high school. He wore all black clothing: a black shirt with a black short-sleeved jacket with the hood up, along with black plans and black steel boots covering his legs. His appearance would normally set others off, however he appeared even shorter than the average man. Even stranger were the runes that adorned his clothing. Even with his hood on, he wore a mask covering his mouth, but his eyes were visible.

"Life has a funny way of throwing you some real curve-balls. In a single moment, the river that we call life can suddenly change course. But the funny thing is, no one tells you that something gets in the way to change it," the figure said as he looked at the students milling about, some celebrating having survived, while others were injured.

"I always thought that I'd be the guy in the background. Someone who who was always just there, but never being seen. But it turns out, someone was always watching me. Just not in the way I believed. If not for that someone watching me, I would've offed myself a long time ago. But it turns out, someone made a plan for me," he said as he removed the hood and mask. His was somewhat pale, and had short dark hair. But the stern and grim expression on his face appeared out of place, especially the scar over his left eye.

"Tonight, I saw just how far true power can grow. But power itself is only half of the fight. With the power given to me, I can do almost anything," he said as he looked at his raised right hand, which began glowing a brilliant red aura.

"Soon, the denizens of the dark shall the divine. They will know the name of the faithful servant. My name is Jonathan Levinson. But soon, I'll be known as Saint John".

* * *

Sunnydale High

May 22, 1998

Jonathan Levinson sat outside in the courtyard of the school as the rest of the students passed him by. He had wondered what had gone on as he noticed that everyone seemed to be in odd spirits. However, he could hear various students events that happened days ago. It seemed that the girl Buffy he heard so much about apparently caused such a stir, as police were here a few days ago. There was that and the rumor that someone was found dead inside the school. While he didn't believe the gossip mill saying Buffy was a murderer, he knew that if someone died in the school, it wasn't an exaggeration. It was even more disturbing that disappearances seemed to escalate before the term was over. He knew something was very wrong. His musings were interrupted as Harmony Kendall and the former cordettes approached him.

"Well if it isn't the little nerd who couldn't. Why do you bother coming here? You're just a waste of all the little space that you take up, you little ant," the blonde said, with the groupies laughing. Jonathan sneered as he felt something in him well up. He stood and stared Harmony in the eye, which other students caught on to.

"Fuck off Harmony. I'm sure there's better things you could be using your mouth for. I'm sure the jocks have found better uses for it than you talking," the short teenager said loud enough for everyone to hear before storming off. However, he was stopped as one of the jocks grabbed his arm and spunhim to face him.

"Hey Levi. Since when were you allowed to grow a spine?" he asked hoping to intimidate the nerdy teen. Jonathan simply stared angrily before he pushed the jock away. However, the jock flew back ten feet away before he hit the ground. Jonathan simply walked away before anyone could stop him. Not far from where Jonathan stormed away, Xander, Willow, Oz, and Giles witnessed the events but were left speechless.

"Huh," Oz said.

"Giles, are there any male humans who have super strength like the slayer?" Willow asked from her wheelchair. The week had been rough on all of the scoobies, especially with Kendra dead and Buffy running away.

"I can't say there are any specific men in question. But we'll have to worry about him later. Right now, we need to do some planning," the librarian said.

* * *

Jonathan walked swiftly to his home as fast as he could as his thoughts were racing. '_What the hell? What the hell? What the hell?! How could I do that?! I shouldn't be able to do that!_' he thought to himself as he was nearly home.

"Relax kid. You think too much and you fry your brain," came a voice of a man with an accent he didn't recognize. Jonathan turned and spotted a man in a dark suit and a fedora to match, minus a tie.

"Who are you?" Jonathan asked.

"The name's Whistler. Or around here, and to you it is. I see you've been tapped by the big guys," the stranger said.

"The big guys? And tapped?" Jonathan said incredulously.

"Yeah. You know, chosen to do something important. You think what you did was just your awakening to meta-human status?" Whistler said.

"You wanna vague that up a little more? You're a bit heavy on the sarcasm," the teenager said as he began to walk again.

"Alright. You have been chosen by the mightiest of powers to embark on a mission. You're already exhibiting signs that you've been tapped. Now, you need to master it. I can help put you on the path," Whistler said.

"How?" Jonathan replied.

"Meet me tonight at Restview Cemetery. Then you'll see," Whistler said before he suddenly disappeared, with a strange flapping noise. Jonathan considered the proposal before shaking his head.

"It's official. I'm going nuts," he said as he decided to meet the stranger later, against his better judgment.

* * *

In another part of town, Whistler stood on the roof of a building, when a beautiful brunette woman in white robes appeared by his side.

"You think he'll survive, Ambriel?" Whistler asked his companion.

"With the right push, he can. Besides, it's high time the Powers stopped screwing around with people, especially when they use you for their dirty work," the woman said.

"I have my reasons why I did what I did. And I don't think an angel speaking that way really flies up their," Whistler replied.

"How I speak isn't the point right now. I've seen his future and I can tell you Father himself is not pleased. As for your role in this, well, why do you think you're able to go against them in this manner now?" she replied.

"What do you mean?" Whistler asked.

"All this talk of balance between good and evil is non-existent. All my brother and sisters ensured was that they maintain some form of control, over the slayer even though they're not the only spheres made to maintain the universe. Do you really think that by keeping both sides at a stand-still that it means everything is better? And using you to ensure champions of of the darkness survive to an extent only makes matters worse. That's why I told them that Father's orders included liberating you from their control," Ambriele explained.

"You can't be serious?! He gave that order even knowing that I'm an abomination? A half-breed?" Whistler said.

"What happened during the flood was a result of the nephilim becoming a threat to everything on earth along with the human life becoming so depraved. You would've been given a different choice if they hadn't manipulated you into being their errand boy. But not anymore. Now, you can help make the world a better place. And you start with the boy," Ambriel said.

"He'll be as big a target as the slayers," the half-breed replied.

"But now he has a fighting chance," Ambriel said before she exposed her wings and took off into the sky.

"Let's hope he can take it."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

Author's note: I'm glad that there has been some attention that came to this story. I want to make a brief announcement to those reading this and say that this story could potentially turn into a series of them, which is something I've noticed I've been doing. So I ask that all of my readers bare with me as I do my best with the stories that I'm working on. Also, for anyone who is a fan of the buffyverse who had an issue of the commentary made on the balance between good and evil, the reason for this is that the commentary was someone forming the logical conclusion to the line of thought that there is a balance to good and evil, which is that not only do the proverbial scales would be equal, meaning neither good nor evil loses or wins. And by extension, that would mean that for whoever the good guys take out, some of the good guys must die for the sake of 'balance' despite the fact that evil is playing to the endgame. As for the Powers That Be, for anyone who kept up with the comics, they let the Twilight crisis happen as a means of 'evolving the universe' despite their champions being used and all of humanity being wiped out. Considering these guys' claims of working for the greater good, they've shown that this is far from the case. Anyway, I've ranted enough, for this chapter, so sit back and enjoy this next installment to Jonathan's path to power.

Restview Cemetery

Jonathan stood next to a large tombstone that held a cross on top as he waited for the man that called himself whistler to show up. However, he felt that this could only turn out either very oddly given the way the day had gone, or very badly. But then if he was lucky and this guy tried to kill him, he could at least fight back with his strength. He couldn't stop himself from shivering and breathing heavily as he could've sworn that the weather was slated to be much warmer at night.

"I must be freaking nuts to think this was a good idea. Who the hell thinks it's a good idea to meet in a cemetery?! I wish it wasn't so cold," the short teen said to himself.

"It's not cold out tonight. And you'd be surprised at the freaks that come out at night in this town," Whistler said, snickering at his own joke, while Jonathan turned to him. Whistler stopped snickering as he took a good look at the kid he was supposed to be helping.

"If it's not cold, then why am I shivering so much? And my asthma shouldn't have kicked in, I walked here!" Jonathan said.

"You really want to know? You want me to shatter this illusion about your hometown to tell you why you're here?" Whistler asked, making sure the kid knew what he was getting into.

"YES! Why do you think I'm out here at ten in the middle of the night?!" Jonathan replied as he began losing his patience. Whistler smirked as he saw that the so-called midget in front of him had more nerve than most people would think.

"Fair enough," Whistler said as he looked at the grave behind the boy. Whistler pointed past Jonathan and the teenager looked on in shock as he saw what was a male teenager rise from the ground. The vampire was halfway through with his upper body showing but stopped. As Jonathan took a good look, he saw that the dead body in question had what appeared to be a hideously deformed face. He saw the pronounced eyebrow ridges, and teeth that seemed elongated for some reason.

"Hey, can somebody help me out? I think my foot is stuck on a root or something. This is really uncomfortable," the creature said. Whistler let out a breath and stepped up to the creature. With a grab and a yank, the creature was freed.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it. Unfortunately for you, it'll be the last thing you ever-" the creature was cut off as Whistler grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

"Listen up kid, this thing right here is what you know as a vampire," the man said.

"It's a-a vampire?! You're kidding. He looks like he just stepped out of a b-movie. Are there cameras around here? IS this a prank from one of the jocks?" Jonathan said, as he tried to rationalize what he was seeing. Whistler shook his head and let the vampire go.

"Listen up, you don't want to tangle with me. But the kid over there is fair game. Good luck killing him," Whistler said as the vampire went off to attack the easier prey.

Jonathan saw the vampire approaching and immediately ducked down. As the creature tried to tackle him, it missed and would've tripped over Jonathan. Except the human teen came back up and lifted the vampire, causing it to flip over him and land on its back. Jonathan turned back to the creature on the ground and looked around hoping to find something to fight it with. The minute he turned to Whistler, the man threw a silver broadsword at him. Jonathan managed to catch it and swung, catching the vampire in a clean sweep across it's neck. As the head rolled off, the creature turned into ash and dust before it's body crumbled, followed by an odd scream. Jonathan looked at the sword in his right hand and noticed that it was three and a half feet long, and appeared stainless, with the hilt of the sword being in the shape of a cross.

"What the hell?!" Jonathan said.

"Not bad. A little more practice and you'll be a real fighting machine in no time," Whistler said.

"I killed a vampire. I just killed a vampire! In what world does this ever make sense?" the teenager said.

"You're about to find out in three, two, one," Whistler said.

"Jonathan?" Willow said as she spotted her classmate, with Oz rolling her in the wheelchair.

"Willow. Hey, what are you doing out here? It's not exactly safe out tonight," the short teen said.

"I think she could say the same to you. So why were you out here?" Xander asked as he came up behind them with Cordelia in tow.

"I was uh..." Jonathan trailed off as he looked around and noticed that Whistler had disappeared.

"Just taking a nice stroll. Nearly got mugged," he commented. His three classmates looked at each other before Cordelia approached and grabbed his arm.

"Come with us," she said, dragging him away.

Sunnydale High Library

Giles listened to the other members of the scoobies tell him about catching Jonathan dust the vampire in the cemetery. Jonathan, for his part, looked around nervously, as if trying to will himself invisible. Giles flicked his sight over to the shorter teenager as he was curious as to how they could have missed the possibility of having a potential ally. Giles was pulled out of his thoughts as Xander finished explaining.

"So what do we do now Giles?" Xander asked.

"Well, we'll have to keep an eye out for him and get him up to speed," the watcher said.

"Oh great. Babysitting another dweeb," Cordelia said, causing Xander to glare at her. The queen of the high school actually felt a bit of shame at her comment and his look.

"Let's talk to him first before we do anything else," Giles said. The group approached the shorter teen and he looked as though he wanted to run for his life.

"It's alright Mr. Levinson. We wish to help you understand your powers and what's happening to you. First, when did this new feat of strength occur?" the older man asked.

"Today actually. I just felt this rush and the next thing I know, that jerk just went flying," the young man replied. Giles seemed confused by the reply and looked to the others.

"I see. Well, if you ever manifest any other abilities, you can come to us, and we'll be here to help. Anyway, it's been a long day and you all should head home," Giles said. Jonathan grabbed his sword and left with the others. Giles wanted to say that he would be better off leaving the sword there but thought that a weapon wouldn't be a bad idea.

Levinson Residence

As the scoobies dropped him off, Jonathan entered his house. He would've tried sneaking up to his room if not for his parents being out of town on some business or other. As he entered the kitchen for a late night snack, he spotted Whistler rummaging through the refrigerator as if he lived there.

"How the hell did you get in here?!" Jonathan yelped.

"You've already seen that I'm not exactly normal. So it's kind of pointless asking. Say, your folks got any beer in this thing?" the man asked.

"Why are you here? Especially since you ditched me and left me to be interrogated," Jonathan said.

"Because you needed to know who you will be working with," Whistler replied.

"Work with? What makes you think I'm going to work with them? They look like they wanted to get rid of me," Jonathan replied.

"They don't want to get rid of you. I'm afraid these guys have a rather serious complex of thinking they're the only ones who can protect this town. That vampire you saw earlier was not the first nor the last one that shows up. You ever hear about folks dying from accidents with barbecue forks?" Whistler asked with a serious face.

"Yeah. It never made sense that so many people...oh don't tell me..." Jonathan trailed off.

"Yup. Vampires were what caused those deaths. But I'm afraid that there's a lot more than you would ever have believed," Whistler explained.

"Like what?" the teen asked.

"The world is older than you know. Contrary to what the Watcher's council would tell you, the first supernatural beings on earth weren't demons. They were angels. You know about the rebellion in Heaven and Lucifer's fall. What you don't know is that the war continued after he fell. Long after Adam and Eve were exiled from Eden, and after they and their children populated the world, the fallen surfaced on the planet. They were called Old Ones because they had lost the beauty that came with their divinity. After they enslaved most of mankind, they decided to fight back. At one point, three warlocks kidnapped a girl around your age and stole a demon's power to force it into her. This gave the world the vampire slayer, which is what Buffy is. Since then, this group known as the "Powers That Be" have capitalized on anyone who would prove useful to helping maintaining the so-called balance between good and evil. The slayer is one such weapon. And those three guys made what's called the Watchers Council," Whistler explained.

"Don't tell me. Mr. Giles is a part of the council, right? No other reason he tried interrogating me. But if these guys are on top of things, what the hell do you need me for?" Jonathan asked.

"You want to know? That little clique of your classmates always come through by the skin of their teeth. And with the blonde call calling the shots, they're going to find themselves in over their heads. And that demon power running through her won't be helping matters. So, they need someone to not only balance them out, but to be the one who can overrule the slayer's decisions. While the Harris kid has the balls to stand up to her, she won't take him seriously because he lacks power, and she's always boiling it down to jealousy he no longer has," Whistler explained.

"I can't exactly do much right now, so how can I fix this?" the teen asked. Whistler smirked as he was waiting for this question.

"Glad you asked," the man said before he grabbed Jonathan's shoulder and they vanished.

Pocket Dimension

Whistler appeared alongside Jonathan in a place that the teen couldn't believe. The area they were in had land that appeared crystalline in nature, with grass and trees actually growing, without signs of decay. As he walked and came to a cliff-edge, he saw that they were on a crystal platform. As he reached his arm out to touch the water beneath the platform, he found that the liquid was much more solid as he laid his palm flat on the surface.

"You like it? I call it the white space. In this place, time is almost nonexistent. You could live here but go back to earth as if you never left. This is the place where you'll be training, or if you ever need to come to for personal training," the Whistler said.

"I still don't understand why I was picked to do this. You've told me that I was chosen to help Xander stand up to Buffy and keep her from getting her and her friends hurt. But nothing else. Why me?" Jonathan asked. Whistler looked to the teenager and sighed.

"All I can say is that we need someone that the forces of darkness won't see coming in any way at all. The group that calls themselves the Powers That Be have made their champions believe that they see and know all, but they didn't. If they did, you wouldn't have lost your favorite computer teacher, and maybe you would've had a wonderful girl. But the valley girl couldn't stomach making the hard decisions to help everyone. But with some training, you'll be one of the people who can do what she can't," Whistler said as he suddenly summoned a silver sword, similar to Jonathan's sword. Jonathan drew his own sword and readied it in an awkward stance. Whistler smirked and charged.

Pocket Dimension

One Year later (Earth Standard Time)

Jonathan swung his sword in a downward curve at Whistler, which was dodged at the last second as his trainer simply leaned to the right. Whistler's blade itself was suddenly engulfed in a red aura with energy crackling around it. Jonathan countered by surrounding his blade with a blue aura with similar effects to the red aura. Their blades clashed as they swung at each other, but Whistler went for a horizontal slash that Jonathan flipped over. Jonathan landed behind his trainer and kicked the back of right knee, making him fall. As Jonathan held his blade at Whistler's neck, other man simply smirked.

"Not bad kid. Not bad at all," Whistler said. Jonathan looked down at Whistler with a steely gaze. While he had not grown any taller, he more than made up for it with a well toned and bulky physique. From what Whistler could see, the boy was barely breathing hard.

"Well, I've had more than enough time to get this right. Still, I hate that I've been gone for so long," Jonathan mused as he thought about what he left back on Earth. It wasn't much in the way of friends. But he still loved his parents.

"Don't worry. You'll be going back soon. Besides, you needed to be here so you could learn how to channel that power properly," Whistler stated.

"Which begs the question of how I could use this power to begin with," Jonathan said with a pointed look to his trainer.

"Every human on earth has always had the power to use the energy of their spirits. The hard part has been in bringing it out. But there in laid a dangerous attribute to it," Whistler began.

"Dangerous how?" Jonathan asked.

"You've already experienced using spiritual power to use what most people would call magic. But for a lot of people, including the little redhead and your friend Amy, the magic they use comes from an external source. Typically the Pagan gods or the Old Gods," Whistler said.

"You're saying they're real?" the teenager asked.

"As real as you and I. Anyway, magic users have often relied on entities like the Pagans and the Old Gods to use their magic. Part of the reason is because their intentions went beyond just combat and tactics. Many of them used magic for personal, which is why there are rules for this kind of thing. You yourself have been taught how to manipulate that power to fight the forces of evil. With that, the world and the slayers stand a greater chance for survival," Whistler said. Jonathan noticed that his mentor had used the plural for slayer but chose not to say anything about the slip of tongue.

"So what happens now?" the teen asked.

"We go back. Grab on," Whistler said. Jonathan complied and they vanished.

Levinson Residence

Sunnydale, California

Jonathan and Whistler surveyed the house once they reappeared. The teenager immediately noticed that nothing about the house had changed, except that a few minutes had passed.

"What the hell?! How is that even possible?" he asked the in-human man.

"Like I said, the white space dimension is made to where time is practically nonexistent. Seconds here is equivalent to days. That's the affect of parallel dimensions, as opposed to parallel universes. In case you're curious, take a look in the mirror," the fedora clad.

Jonathan went into the downstairs bathroom and noticed how his shirt, while messy and torn, had also been bulged due to his muscle mass. As he lifted his shirt, he saw that his abdominal and his arm muscles had not only increased in size but were also toned.

"Whoa," Jonathan said.

"That's right. You're now physically stronger than what you were. In fact, you could actually take on a slayer as well as any half breed demon. But as you can guess with mentioning things like the Pagans, there's things much stronger," Whistler said.

"How much stronger?" Jonathan asked.

"They're called the Old Ones. The Watchers Council, who trains the slayer, would have the common man believe that the Old Ones were always separate from the Powers That Be and that they came form hellish dimensions. But the truth is the Old Ones ad the Powers That Be were once one in the same thing, under the banner of the highest power known to man. But because the Old Ones, along with the Old Gods and Pagans still had tenuous grasps on this dimension, well, many humans were led astray as you've read in the holy books," Whistler explained. Jonathan looked on in shock at his mentor.

"You mean angels? They're real?! Just when I thought things couldn't get weirder," the teenager said as he sat down.

"Perhaps. But better you know the truth sooner than later. With that in mind, your first mission is coming up soon," Whistler said.

"At the risk of my sanity, what is it?" Jonathan asked.

"You're going to rescue a couple of ladies," the man said. Jonathan looked at him strangely.

"I'm not kidding. But the thing is, these particular ladies are going to run into trouble not long before Summers comes back to town. They've been led to believe that they are the only ones who are actively doing the slayer duties thanks to the council not telling them that Summers is still alive," Whistler said.

"Wait. If I'm understanding you, Buffy isn't the only slayer person. You hinted that there was more than one. Are you saying that there's another one?" Jonathan asked. Whistler looked to the floor before addressing the teen.

"Here's the rundown, since the Primordium Age, there was only one slayer at a time. The previous one dies, the next girl receives the power and so on and so forth. Last year, Summers had suffered a clinical death. But thanks to Alexander Harris, she was brought back. But because of this, she was still technically dead, and the power was split between her and another girl. The girl was a Jamaican beauty by the name of Kendra. You remember seeing her around career day," Whistler said. Jonathan thought back to when that police officer had taken him as a hostage after she began shooting out of nowhere. He remembered seeing the chocolate skinned beauty with the lush and pouty lips.

"So she needs my help?" Jonathan asked.

"No. She's been at peace in the heavens for a week now," Whistler said sadly. Jonathan's eyes widened at hearing the news.

"She died fighting for what she believed in. Now she's at peace. But when when she died, a girl in Boston about your age had received the power. She's brash, has an attitude, but she's also brave. But she and her watcher need help. That's where you come in," Whistler said.

"Okay. How exactly do you expect me to get to Boston? I live on the West Coast," Jonathan said, thinking he pointed out an obvious flaw.

"Simple. We'll fly."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Author's note: So far so good. I want my readers to understand something about this story, this is not intended to bash anyone but to give everyone a much closer look at Buffy as a character, especially in regards to her decisions. No one is perfect, but writers tend to make her seem her decisions were right, when they've either hindered progress or made things worse. As such, this story will have the televised season go completely different, and will in fact ignore the comic book continuations especially given how ridiculous the plots for the comics have become. On that note, enjoy.

Boston Inn

Boston Southside, Massachusetts

Whistler and Jonathan appeared outside of the hotel and the fedora clad man let go of the teenager.

"What the hell was that?! How the hell did we get here?! How the hell did you do that?!" Jonathan asked in rapid succession.

"I can explain all this later. Right now you need to rest so you can do what you have to for tomorrow. I've already checked you in. Just get to your room and knock out," Whistler said as he tossed the teenager the key. Jonathan looked at the room number and looked back up only to find Whistler gone.

"Dammit."

The next morning...

Jonathan walked outside of the hotel, surprised to find that it was rather accommodating and well furnished. He was ready to explore the city until he remembered that he was alone here. He didn't know anyone or anything about the place except that there was a girl called a slayer living in the city. Jonathan shook his head turned only to find Whistler standing next to him.

"Dammit man! Say something!" Jonathan said.

"Sorry. Thought I'd drop in and point you in the right direction," Whistler said as he pointed to a tall, and somewhat old building over in the west.

"That's where she lives? Shouldn't be too bad," Jonathan said as he started walking. Whistler stayed behind and smirked softly.

Dormer Residence

Jonathan looked up at the somewhat old building contemplating how he could approach this situation. It didn't help that there were some...gentlemen eying him in a rather hostile manner. As he went inside, he found a male attendant at a desk reading a magazine.

"Excuse me. I'm looking for a Faith Lehane," Jonathan said.

"What did she do now?" the man asked, not even looking up from his magazine.

"Nothing. Just want to see her," Jonathan replied. The attendant looked up at the teenager,

"Room 319. Don't make too much of a mess," the man said. Jonathan looked confused by the comment before he got into the elevator. As he passed by the doors, he stopped as he stood outside the designated room. He gave a slight knock before someone answered barely three seconds later. Jonathan almost drooled at the young woman. Faith was wearing dark blue, hip-hugging jeans, with a black wife-beater, exposing a fair amount of cleavage, which caused Jonathan to note how blessed she was in that area. As he looked in her eyes, he saw that there was some anger and maybe sadness in her eyes.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked.

"Hi. Are you Faith Lehane?" he replied.

"Who's asking?" the young lady said, ignoring his sidestepping her first question.

"My name is Jonathan Levinson. I came here looking for you," the shorter man replied.

"First of all, I don't know what you heard but I don't need money. Second, if you try anything funny, I'm breaking your arms, legs, and your balls," Faith said. Jonathan's brow furled as he took in her threat.

"What are you talking about?" Jonathan asked.

"You're going to stand there and act like you're not looking for a roll in the sack," Faith stated rather than asked. She took another look at Jonathan's confused face and smirked before she started laughing.

"Oh man! This is too good!" Faith said through her laughter.

"Now you've really lost me," Jonathan said.

"Look guy, I don't teach how to give a good ride, so you gotta get your jollies somewhere else," the young woman replied. Jonathan looked at her strangely as her words finally sunk in.

"That's what you think I'm here for? Please tell me there's more on your mind than that?!" Jonathan asked. Faith stopped laughing as she got the wrong idea.

"You calling me a slut, short stack?!" she yelled.

"I didn't say that!" the boy replied.

"I bet you were thinking it, you motherfucker!" Faith shot back.

"Faith?" came another woman's voice. The two teens turned and found a fair skinned woman with dark hair in a bun, dressed in a dark business suit, with a skirt for the lower half. Jonathan could barely take his eyes off of her curvy hips, as well as her impressive bust, even if she was covered.

"Hey DD," Faith said.

"Is this a friend of your's?" the older woman asked.

"No ma'am. My name is Jonathan Levinson. I came here looking to help Faith out," Jonathan replied. Faith was taken aback by his reply.

"Help her with what exactly?" DD said as her eyes narrowed on the teenage boy.

"Has anything strange happened to her recently?" he asked.

"Aside from midgets showing up at my door, nothing," Faith said. Jonathan nearly glared at her but chose to let it go.

"I mean like running into guys with weird faces and teeth? And maybe her being stronger than normal?" Jonathan added on. The two ladies looked to each other then back to him.

"Come inside," DD said as she grabbed his arm and pulled him in before closing and locking the door.

'Wait here," DD said. She came back out a few moments later with material that Jonathan could only guess the purpose for. He watched as DD drew a circle with a triangle at different points and certain marks that he didn't recognize. DD stood back and cupped her hands together and starting chanting in Latin. The symbol began lighting up and then fading after a moment.

"What's the word, DD?" Faith asked.

"Well, he's not evil. He's not a demon either. But it appears he came into contact with something powerful. And holy," DD explained.

"Holy? You're kidding right?" Faith asked.

"Never mock the supernatural Faith. With everything you've experienced so far, you should never expect what seems to be impossible to remain impossible, contrary to what the council will tell you," DD replied.

"You mean the watcher's council?" Jonathan asked. DD looked at the young man in further curiosity.

"Who exactly are you Mr. Levinson?" DD asked. Jonathan let out a breath before deciding to bite the bullet.

"I live over this town called Sunnydale, out in California. Really small town. But a lot of weird stuff goes down that not many people know about. I was one of them. I used to think that all the dying or missing people were just coincidences. But then I met my first vampire. Managed to kill it. And then I learned the whole, horrible story," Jonathan explained.

"Sunnydale. Yes, I've heard of it. It's where the slayer, Buffy Summers, currently resided. According tot he records I have, she's still active. And it seems that the activity in the town has calmed down," DD stated.

"That still doesn't explain this 'holy' thing or why short stuff is here," Faith said, with skepticism.

"I was...told you would need some kind of help. But I wasn't told what exactly that meant," the boy replied.

"And what was this holy being that you encountered?" DD asked.

"I met this guy. This badly dressed guy, who told me that I was being chosen for a mission. But he didn't touch me or give me any kind of contact. When he took me to fight a vampire, I was much stronger than I should've been. And I've learned some things. Things I only thought existed in books and games. Anyway, he told me that I was being chosen to help prevent or change some things, but he didn't say what they were. As far as I can tell, it may not have been him, but someone else who did it without coming into contact with me," Jonathan said.

"You can't be buying this D," the girl said.

"That's enough Faith. As I've told you time and before, the supernatural has all manner of things that we find impossible. It wouldn't be insane to think that God exists. The only reason the council doesn't elect to think so is because they're full of narcissistic morons who crave control," DD said.

"I'm assuming this council has to do with the slayer?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes it does. Not many in the council know the entire origins of the slayer. All many of us know is that the council has been around for a long time and has, more or less, trained the slayer. Of course, how each slayer fares depends on who you ask," DD explained.

"Well, while I'm here, maybe I can help you guys?" Jonathan offered.

"You? What can you do?" Faith asked. Jonathan glared at her as her attitude was beginning to grate his nerves.

"We can meet up tonight and I'll show you," Jonathan suggested.

"It sounds splendid. Oh, before I forget, my full name is Diana Dormer. Faith is the only one who can call me DD and really get away with it," Diana said with a sideways glance at her charge.

"Hey, you've got it. You just don't flaunt it," Faith said as she smirked at her guardian. Jonathan nearly blushed as he thought about Diana's impressive bust but chose not to think about it. He thought back to the stories Whistler told them. He was so shocked by what he took in that it took time for him to process it all. But now he was aware of the whole story. He wondered how Faith would handle being told that she has demon power running through her.

"I guess I'll see you both tonight," Jonathan said as he departed.

Hours later...

Boston Inn

Jonathan sat on his bed watching television as time ticked away. He was anxious about tonight as this would actually be his first time patrolling. He wasn't sure what to expect as he only fought Whistler. Speaking of which, he sensed another presence in the room and looked from the television screen to see his de-facto mentor smiling at him.

"You love making a habit of this, don't you?" Jonathan asked.

"It's a power I never get tired of. Anyway, I came by to drop something off for you before you head off," Whistler said as he went around the corner into the living room and came back with a box.

"What's in the box?" Jonathan asked. Whistler smirked as it reminded him of a certain film.

"Some gifts I have for you. Some garments that can help you for when you really get into this fight," Whistler said as he began pulling out clothes and accessories.

The first things that Whistler pulled out were two bracelets. Each bracelet had seven small silver shields that were attached to them. The next thing that the mentor pulled out was a black jacket with short sleeves that appeared rolled up to the elbows of the arms. This same jacket had silver runes adorning the hem of the jacket. There were also what appeared to be two large flaps in the front.

"These will be a part of your armaments. The two bracelets serve a few functions. First, they can help you focus the spiritual power that I've taught you how to harness. This makes it easier for you to focus your power as in any battle, you will find trying to focus that power will be difficult with your life on the line. The jacket acts as both an item of focus as well as your armor. It's made from heavenly material that allows you to move freely, while still being able to protect from weapons and most forms of magic. The jacket comes with a built in mask. The gloves and boots are for show," Whistler finished explaining as he set the attire on the living room table.

Jonathan put on the gloves followed by the bracelets, causing him to feel his power flow steadily through his body and to his arms. He decided to put on the jacket and noticed that the large flaps were left open, until he saw that they could come together. As he moved the flaps together, they magically linked together, forming a dark grey steel-looking plate of armor covering his torso. Jonathan felt his power begin to circulate through his entire body in a calm manner. He put on the boots and completed the outfit.

"There is one thing I left out about the bracelets. It was the other function that they have," Whistler said.

"What's that?" Jonathan asked, not paying attention to Whistler moving about the room.

"You're about to see," the man said as he summoned a sword and swung at the teenager. Jonathan turned and put his arms up in a meaningless act of self-defense. As the blade made contact, it suddenly bounced away. Jonathan opened his eyes to find a translucent shield of energy surrounding him.

"What the hell is that?" Jonathan asked.

"You can call it a shield bracelet. Part of the reason that your spiritual energies are so focused is because the bracelets are also tuned to shield you from various forms of attack. Any kinetic energy that is directed at you, like when I swung the sword or someone trying to shoot you, the bracelets stop it and bounce it back. Same goes for the armor in your jacket. And thankfully for you, the jacket/armor also prevents you from being possessed in any form. The runes are also in a language known as celestial script. It's written in different verses of scripture which is part of why you're safe from possession. There's one more thing I want to show you," Whistler said. He pulled out what Jonathan believed to be a blade that was somewhere between a very short sword or long dagger. Whistler turned the baklde with the hilt facing the teenager.

"What's this?" Jonathan asked.

"Your new weapon," the man said before disappearing. Jonathan looked himself over and decided that he better make his way over to Diana's.

Having made his way over to the two ladies, Jonathan knocked and waited before Diana answered. She looked over the young man and was surprised yet impressed with the way he was dressed.

"New wardrobe. Interesting. I assume the powers behind them are going to help in some way?" she asked. Jonathan was confused before he remembered that she was at least skilled in magic.

"Yeah. It'll be very useful. Is Faith ready?" he asked.

"Five by five, shorty. Let's go," the dark brunette replied, moving out of the apartment. Jonathan blew out a breath of annoyance and followed her. As she watched her charge and new acquaintance walk away, she simply shook her head hoping that hope wouldn't be so stubborn.

The two teenagers walked in silence, neither exactly what to say or if they wanted to say anything at all. Jonathan kept glancing over at Faith and saw an odd twinkle in her eyes. He could see that there was more to her, but she was trying to hide it as best as she could.

"So why did you come all the way here to see me?" she asked.

"Like I said, a friend said that maybe I could help. But he wasn't exactly specific why. But I figured if I could do something, maybe I could help," he answered.

"Well, I don't need it. I'm the slayer," Faith said with confidence.

"One person alone can't hold the world on their shoulders. It's crazy to try. That's the reason why Buffy died and why you were called now," Jonathan said.

"Who says I'm Buffy?" she shot back.

"I'm not saying you are. But thinking you have to do this mostly on your own can get you killed. The whole "one girl in all the world" deal sounds like bullshit because this kind of thing isn't isolated to just here. Like I said, my hometown is on a portal to hell. So it's naïve to think that one place will just cover the world," Jonathan said.

"So what? You wanna be buds and fight with me, so you can get in my pants later?" Faith sneered at him.

"Goddammit! I'm not interested in trying to fuck you! Not every guy you meet wants to take you somewhere and screw your brains out! Yes, you're beautiful. And I admire how tough you seem to be. But I'm not looking to take advantage of you. And any guy who treats you that way should've had his dick ripped off!" Jonathan finally snapped. Faith was stunned by his response that she stopped and took in his words. The first thing that his her was the word he used to describe her appearance.

"You really think I'm beautiful?" She asked even as his back was turned to her. Jonathan turned around ready to throw out his answer in annoyance until he saw her face. The hardened expression that had lined her face had softened considerably to a point of expressing her vulnerability. Jonathan relaxed as her change in demeanor was a large indicator for him.

"Yes. You're very beautiful actually. I was pretty stunned when we first met. I would think you'd hear it all the time," Jonathan said.

"You'd be surprised John. Seems the only guys that are good for me are the assholes and losers. If there's a good guy, he won't want me," Faith said.

"What the hell gives you that idea?" Jonathan asked in confusion. Faith looked sadly at him and told him about life ever since she since puberty. Her mother often abandoning her for a fix, and father in jail, leaving no one else to care for her. Then came high school where she was coerced into sex only to be thrown away. Ever since, she had only used guys and never gave into the possibilities for relationships. But how would she when the chance never presented itself. Jonathan listened and realized that the girl had no one to show her any differently until Diana came along.

"I'm...I'm so sorry you went through that," Jonathan said. He had thought of all the girls he had gone to school with, particularly of Harmony. He knew that a girl like her practically reveled in jumping into bed with guys, especially those high on the high school social hierarchy. But he also knew that if she were suddenly in Faith's shoes, she wouldn't last a day before she became truly desperate.

"It's not your fault. But I don't think I'm cut out to be the girlfriend type. It just doesn't suit me," she said.

"I don't know. Someone might surprise you," Jonathan said.

"You up for the challenge?" Faith teased. Jonathan could only look to the ground and chuckle as they continued walking. The two teens suddenly stopped as they sensed something approaching. They were approached by two vampires: one African-American man in a sharp business suit, and the other a blonde woman. Unfortunately, they became surrounded as more vampires showed up. Jonathan pulled out the blade Whistler gave him and gave it a good look. The hilt was ten inches long while the blade was a fine silver and a foot long, but appeared to have a six-inch cylinder grafted inside it.

"Well well, look what we have here. Can't say much about the short-stack but this is one fine piece of woman he snagged. Wonder how much she charged him for it," the black vampire sneered with his vamp-face in full effect.

"I don't know what you think you heard, but you've got the wrong idea," Jonathan said as he held the blade in a reverse grip and took a fighting stance.

"Oh! So the half-pint thinks he's a big man. Let's show him and the slayer what happens when an ant goes up against a boot," the black vampire said as the other vampires charged at the teens.

Faith immediately ducked the first punch and came back with an uppercut and spun to stake the first vampire, leaving him a pile of ashes. She looked over to Jonathan and saw him holding his own as he took on three vampires. One was a Latino man who to tackle him from behind, only for Jonathan to flip over him and stab him with the blade. The Latino vampire exploded into dust, followed by the blonde vampire to claw at him with a few attempted swings, making the empowered boy duck and sway to avoid getting hurt. Jonathan went for a right roundhouse and caught the blonde in her jaw, making her spin away before landing. The third vampire managed to grab the boy from behind, only for Jonathan to duck and sweep his legs from under him before stabbing him. Jonathan looked around to see the blonde gone as well as the black vamp. He turned to see Faith was dealing with two other vampires, who were giving her a run for her money. Jonathan grabbed and turned the closest one around, delivering a right hook followed by a backhanded fist, spinning the vamp around before stabbing him. As the vampire turned to dust, he saw Faith dust the other one, finishing the fight.

"Not bad for my second fight," Jonathan mused, not realizing Faith heard him.

"Second fight? What do you mean?" Faith said. Before Jonathan could reply, they heard another voice call out.

"You kids got some real chops. Maybe I'll let Kakistos turn you and make you his bitches!" the black vampire said before he disappeared.

"Kakistos? Weird name for a vampire. We should get back," Jonathan said.

"Hold on. What did you mean about this being your second fight?" Faith asked. Jonatahn sighed and decided to tell her the truth, in that he had only just learned about the situation with the supernatural a day ago.

"How the hell does that work? The way you fought, you look like you've been doing this for a few years," she said.

"Let's just say the guy who trained me not only taught me well, but also managed to to find a way to give me a year of training in practically a day," he said. Faith nearly chuckled as the idea sounded like something out of an anime she started watching after Diana got cable.

"Let me guess, he took you to another dimension where time moved differently?" Faith smirked, wanting to laugh.

"Actually yeah, he did. Only when I got back, practically no time had passed. Two days ago I was a short and skinny nerd that the bullies used to play with like a toy. Now I'm built with enough power to beat them to a pulp if I wanted. Whistler said I was as strong as and maybe stronger than a slayer," he explained.

"No way. Slayer is supposed to be the toughest thing against vamps and demons," Faith threw back.

"Well, the way he explained it, the Old Ones were pretty strong when they were around. If the first slayer managed to beat them, she likely had help. But that doesn't matter now. We need to tell Diana about this Kakistos guy now," he said and they quickly made their way back to the apartment.

Dormer Residence

Jonathan and Faith recalled the entire incident of the patrol as well as how Jonathan came to be a part of the supernatural world. Diana was shocked at how things had progressed and had paled noticeably at the name of Kakistos. She went over to her books and began flipping through pages as she knew that there was some trouble coming their way.

"I found him. Kakistos. It's Greek for Worst of the worst. Seems he's been around for quite some time. He's so old his hands and feet mutated into hooves. And much like Heinrech Joseph Nest, he can no longer assume a human face. And from what you've described, the leading vampire you met tonight goes by the name of Mr. Trick. We can't just attack these creatures head on. We need a plan," Diana said.

"I can create a diversion. The super strength and durability aren't the only things up my sleep. Whistler even taught me how to use my spiritual power for defense and offense. I can even give some kind of support if it calls for it. As a slayer, you're already pretty strong. But against a master vampire, it'd be a different story. I need to test one power before we go back out," Jonathan said.

"Alright. Shoot," the dark haired slayer replied. Jonathan clasped his hands together and concentrated.

"Insigne ex magus!" he shouted as he glowed silver. A similar aura yet fiery aura surrounded Faith and she felt power rush through her. Jonathan unclasped his hands and the aura remained around the slayer.

"Whoa. Wicked. Hmmm," she said before she punched a hole in the wall as if it were nothing. Diana rolled her eyes at the display but chose to let it go for the time being.

"Arcessere armas!" Jonathan said as he concentrated on Diana this time. The watcher found herself surrounded by a gold aura acting like a shield.

"Amazing! With this power, it can make us more battle effective. How is it that there aren't more like you?" Diana asked.

"You'd have to asked Whistler about that. Anyway, I think I have an idea of how to take these guys down," Jonathan said.

Warehouse District

Boston Southside

Mr. Trick looked around at his subordinates as they planned an assault on the slayer and her new friend. They had recently gotten word of the previous slayer's death and were surprised to find out that this new slayer was right at home. They intended to come to the hellmouth but they wanted to deal with the dark-haired girl first. Trick looked up as the skylight opened and someone fell through. The figure revealed himself to be the young man his crew fought earlier.

"Gentlemen, and ladies, and I use those terms very loosely. I'd like your attention," Jonathan said.

"With what?" came a deep bellow. From the shadows came a large vampire. Unlike the others, he had a permanent demonic face. That wouldn't have bothered Jonathan so much if not for the cloven hooves on his hands and feet. Jonathan wondered how that was even possible before he remembered that it was a demonically possessed corpse.

"I have an announcement to make. You're all going to die," the young man replied. The lead mutant vampire, as Jonathan was thinking, began to laugh.

"And how are you going to do this little man?" the vampire said.

"With this," Jonathan said as he pulled out a circular flask of holy water. He charged some of his spiritual power into the flask, which enhance the contents of it to a point where it glowed blue. Jonathan threw the flask in the center of the vampire, which exploded in a wide area, catching Trick and the lower vampires, making them crumble to dust. Kakistos howled in pain as the effects of the holy water were powerful, but he was thankful that he wasn't destroyed. Jonathan anticipated this and clasped his hands in prayer.

"I'll kill you, you fucking insect!" Kakistos bellowed.

"I'll leave that to her. Insigne ex magus!" Jonathan shouted as he glowed silver. Faith came into the warehouse armed with a sword which glowed silver just as her body did.

"You must be the slayer. How quaint. I get to destroy another one," he neered.

"Not today," Faith said before she charged him. She leapt and delivered a flying kick to his chest, sending him flying back roughly ten feet. Kakistos crashed into a pile of boxes and roughly pulled himself up.

"Impossible! No slayer is this powerful!" he roared as he looked at her. He noticed that she was glowing just as the boy was and he put it together.

"He's giving you power! I'll just have to destroy both of you!" he bellowed before he charged at Jonathan. Kakistos had moved faster than anticipated and tried to catch him. Jonathan simply looked at Kakistos as he approached before he launched a jab at the vampire's stomach, stopping him cold. He followed up with a left-right haymaker combo, making Kakistos stagger back, with his mouth dripping blood. As Kakistos stood back up, Jonathan jumped up, grabbing him by his head, and headbutted the ancient vampire. Kakistos stumbled back on fell to the floor, never believing he'd experience such pain. He looked up just in time to see the slayer staring down at him. Before he could utter a sound, she swung the sword, slicing cleanly through the neck and dusting him.

"Whoa! That was crazy!" Faith said.

"Indeed. I imagine it would've been much more difficult as you weren't here Jonathan," Diana said as she walked into the warehouse.

"No doubt. You really came through, Jonny boy," Faith said as she smiled at the young man. Jonathan looked down and turned red. It was the first genuine compliment that he had heard in a long time and he didn't want to embarrass himself.

"Thanks. Guess we'd better be getting back. It's pretty late," the young man said.

"Dormer Residence

The three entered the apartment to find that it wasn't as empty as they left it. Whistler sat at the table in the kitchen when he saw the three back inn the apartment. HE stood up and lightly clapped as he smiled at them.

"Who the hell is this?" Faith said as she stepped up in front of her surrogate mother and her new friend.

"It's okay Faith. This is Whistler," Jonathan said.

"This is your mentor?" Diana spoke up.

"Yeah I am. You guys did a great job handling old fuckface back there. This is the first step to major changes for all of you. And for those scoobies back in your hometown," Whistler explained.

"What do you mean?" Diana said.

"If I hadn't put the kid on his path and brought him here, you would've died a couple of months from now. And then Faith would've gone down a rough path that she wouldn't have liked," Whistler noted with sadness.

"What do Buffy and the others have to do with this?" Jonathan asked.

'Let's just say some guys taken it upon themselves to make sure that your lives are as screwed as possible for the foreseeable future. Things will likely get bad and there will be people needed. So get ready, because tomorrow, you have your next mission," Whistler said before he disappeared, which was followed by a fluttering sound.

"Well good night," Diana said as she headed off to her bedroom.

"Hey, thanks for helping us out Jon. I...I'm not used to saying this but I appreciate what you did. I'm sorry for being such as bitch earlier," Faith said.

"It's okay. If it means anything, you're much cooler than the girls I know," Jonathan said. Faith smiled at him, before she cupped his face and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Thanks again. Couch is all your's," Faith said as she went to her own room. Jonathan touched his lips.

"Wow."


End file.
